Among the Stars
by Piratemonkies64
Summary: Working Summary: Dib never expected to be joining his greatest enemy on a journey across the universe, and neither did Zim. But when the two of them are forced into each other's company because of a life debt, both of their worlds become a little more complicated. (Eventual ZADF, and (possibly) mild cuddly ZADR).


A/N: Hoo boy! I've been antsy about publishing this for a while, and I really hope that readers enjoy this piece. I still have a long road ahead with writing the other chapters and editing, but it's good to get this out here. Welcome to Among the Stars!

This story is based off various roleplay ideas between me and Thinkofthepastabilities, Rue_Nightly, and Taro. Thank you both of you for contributing your wonderful ideas that helped to make this fanfiction possible.

This fic is dedicated to all of my friends I have made in this fandom over the years. Dib07, Rissynicole, I'm eternally grateful for everything you've both done for me. I couldn't ask for better friends.

Kithesa, thank you always for coming into my life. I couldn't have made it this far without you, love.

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**Chapter 1: Moth to a Flame**

Dilbert Membrane was leaving. Tonight.

The lanky seventeen-year-old was currently rushing about his cluttered bedroom, an old duffel bag hanging from his left shoulder as he mindlessly scooped up his remaining belongings. The once comforting space had recently fallen into an absolute state of disarray, even for the usually sloppy teen's standards. Old books and video games been knocked off the shelves, and shredded bits of old posters hung lifelessly from the dark blue walls. A large dent stood out in the middle of the closed bedroom door, as if someone's fist had collided with it several times.

Dib's bruised knuckles ached as he tightly gripped his set of car keys, being too caught up in his own angry thoughts to even notice the pain in his hand. This certainly was not the first time Dib had considered running away from home, mostly springing to mind when the constant mockery from his peers had gotten to him most. Back then, his younger, more naive self-had often fantasized of going on all sorts of adventures on his own, dreaming of the day he would finally be free of the constant failures and insults that always seemed to plague his day to day life.

And now... Five whole years later, Dib had finally gained enough courage to act on those urges. What had caused this burst of motivation, however, was something he never could have prepared himself for. It was hard to believe that this morning had started off completely normal, at least for Dib's standards. He had woken up, gotten out of bed to greet his ever-pleasant sister and eat breakfast, and he had gone off to Hi Skool to endure another rotten day in his Junior year. As was typical, his teachers' lectures had stretched on endlessly, boring him to tears, and in between those torture sessions were the usual arguments that had gone on between him and Zim. Nothing special.

It wasn't until he'd returned to his empty home that evening that his world had shifted entirely. He had traveled to his father's lab, simply intending to borrow one of his inventions in order to make Zim's life hell. That was something they had done all the time to each other before, just for the fun of it. But now? Childish pranks were the last thing on his mind.

The pile of papers he had accidentally stumbled upon were still lying on his desk behind him, stolen from his father's lab after he had accidentally stumbled across such information.

Dib's hands shook as he went to pick the paperwork back up, flicking through each page as if the words had changed since last time. His soft brown eyes had settled on an old photo printed on the corner of the first article, which showed his father cradling his bundled up, clearly newborn son in his arms. Even though his dad's lab coat still covered half his face in the picture, there was a happiness there that could never be recaptured, even to this day. But Dib knew that his father's pleased expression couldn't be out of parental love. It was more like the type of joy that was showing because the 'experiment' had been supposedly successful. And as Dib had grown up, his father's happiness had eventually vanished completely, just to be replaced with more and more disappointment as his son continued to drift from his destiny of becoming his heir.

Dib's gaze had eventually drifted back over to the main title of the article, feeling a lump forming in his throat all over again.

**FAMOUS SCIENTIST PROFESSOR MEMBRANE CREATES CLONING TECHNOLOGY.**

"I guess that's all I was to you, huh? Just another science experiment. I shouldn't have expected anything less." With a disgusted huff, Dib tossed the paperwork back where it had previously rested, hoisting the bag over his shoulder as he started to head for the door. It was only when his hand wrapped around the doorknob that he paused for a moment, several things suddenly running through his mind. That stupid voice was back again, always convincing him to have second thoughts about running away. It always had a way of convincing him to avoid stepping out of the game, much to the teen's frustration.

_Come on you idiot. Think rationally for a minute. Where are you even going to go? It's not like you can afford a plane ticket, and the police will be looking for you, if dad even notices you're missing._

_Gaz'll go out of her mind with worry. You can't leave your baby sister all alone to fend for herself. You'd be no better than dad then._

_And what about Zim? He'll surely see an opportunity to take over the world once you're gone. Is it really fair to completely doom mankind just because of your own problems?_

_You're being so fucking selfish._

Quietly cursing his guilty conscience, Dib reluctantly released the knob and slumped against the door, shutting his wet eyes as he struggled to come up with any opposing arguments. As expected, none came.

He knew he'd be much happier if was far away from home, no doubt, but there were far too many things at stake to even consider running anymore. Now just wasn't the time to be skipping out, especially while Zim was still out there, waiting to strike the moment he was gone.

Screw it. Just like always, he was stuck facing the consequences of his actions, and there was no one else in this world he could talk to about this, let alone expect them to understand.

No one except...

A sudden rumbling suddenly began to shake the floor underneath Dib, causing him to glance down in alarm. "What the hell?!" Was there an earthquake happening? With a terrified gasp, he dropped the heavy bag and quickly dove onto the floor, covering his head as he desperately tried to protect himself from any incoming danger.

The fierce shaking was unlike any normal tremor that Dib might've experienced in his lifetime. This was ten times worse. The rumbling had caused his belongings to begin to falling off the desk, and he winced as he heard the distinct noise of his favorite snow globe fall and shatter into a million pieces against the floor. His old participation trophies for karate were the next to go, right alongside the computer monitor that had been formerly seated on his desk. Forcing himself to ignore those painful casualties, Dib crawled on his hands and knees until he was able to carefully pull himself up to the windowsill. Scanning for any oddities, Dib's gaze rested far off in the distance, half expecting some sort of monster or robot to be wreaking havoc, and for Zim to not be far behind.

Instead, what he ended up spotting in the distance was enough to make the hairs on back of his neck stand up. In mere seconds, the night sky had suddenly turned orange as the distinct bright light of an explosion appeared on the horizon. Immediately, Dib's stomach sank as the shock of the situation began to settle over him, and his knuckles began to turn white as he hung onto the sill much more tightly than before.

"Oh my god..."

He knew exactly where the source of that explosion had come from.

That was Zim's base.

The quaking had stopped now, though that scarcely did anything to reassure the still trembling teen, especially when it came to this new sense of dread on top of everything else.

Something was very wrong, and he just KNEW that Irken had to be behind whatever was happening out there. And he absolutely refused to just sit around and continue to wallow in his own self-pity when there could be injured or dead people out there...

Or injured or dead aliens.

Without wasting any time, Dib quickly rose to his feet, rushing out of his room and down the steps as fast as his legs could carry him. His earlier problems had been all but forgotten in the face of new danger.

"I-I'm going out, Gaz! I'll be back in a little while, I promise!" He had shouted over his shoulder, trying not to let the fear show in his voice. Dib hadn't expected her to even answer back since she was usually so engrossed in her own activities. There was also the possibility that she hadn't even noticed there was an earthquake.

Clearly, however, Dib had underestimated his sibling. Just as he was about to set foot outside, he felt a strong hand snatch at his sleeve, stopping him in his tracks.

"Wait just a minute." Gaz's voice carried a hint of a snarl to it, forcing Dib to reluctantly turn and look at her. His once little sister had only recently grown enough to be nearly equal to his height, and behind her long, messy purple hair, her gaze was slanted, containing that familiar anger he had quickly learned to dread during their early childhood. Scanning her brother up and down, there was a brief period of silence before she opened her mouth to speak. "…You can't be serious, Dib. I know exactly where you're going, and you need to just forget about it. You're going to get hurt out there, dumbass."

Her ominous words had startled Dib to say the least. Gaz was actually trying to stop him this time? She hardly even cared about any of his whereabouts before! Annoyed, Dib tugged against her iron grip, his efforts quickly growing desperate. "I don't have time for this right now! The planet might be in danger again, Gaz!" Even though he could care less about her warning, Dib WAS rather surprised by her sudden worry for him, but even that wasn't nearly enough to change his mind. Perhaps that was something the two siblings had always had in common; Ever since birth, they'd shared the same kind of stubborn attitude. "You saw the size of that explosion! I can't just stand by and let Zim get away with this."

Gaz had raised an eyebrow at Dib's outburst, scowling as she tried to resist the urge to shout at him. Still, she refrained, attempting to be patient for once. Of course she understood where her brother's behavior was coming from, though it did nothing to lessen her own concerns for him. "Listen to me, you idiot. It's too late for you to do anything to help now. The damage is already done, Zim is probably gone, and those paramedics don't need more people putting themselves in danger. Let it go."

Refusing to listen, Dib immediately shook his head, simultaneously feeling panic rising within his heart. He was already wasting too much time standing here arguing, and Gaz was just slowing him down even more. "You don't understand, Gaz… I can't 'let go' without making sure he's still out there, and you know it."  
That explanation clearly wasn't enough, and his sister's hold only seemed to tighten. "Why is Zim's life more important than your own right now? Something's going on, Dib. Don't leave me in the dark this time."

"It isn't, I just-!" Dib sighed in defeat, anxiously running his fingers through his messy hair. "Look, right now, I really need to make sure he's not still out there. I'll explain the rest later. Just do me one favor, please. Stay safe inside the house, and if dad asks you where I am, I want you tell him his 'insane son' is out saving lives." Dib yanked his arm away with a huff, leaving his disappointed sister alone on the porch while he headed for his car. It was only when he started to pull open the door that she spoke, catching his attention one last time.

"Wait a sec. I know I can't stop you bro, but I do have a favor to ask you too."  
"Yeah Gaz?" He whirled around, stress becoming more evident on his face with each passing second. He didn't want to lose any more time than he had to.  
"Don't be stupid out there, for both mine and dad's sake. Whatever your beef is with him, I'm sure he wouldn't want you to get hurt. I don't want that either."

Dib's fingers dug into the surface of the door, forcing himself to hold back all the doubts he now had about his father, alongside the urge to reveal to his sister what had just found out about himself. Right now, it just wasn't a good time for that. Instead, he just nodded in his sister's direction, forcing himself to smile at her.

"...Sure Gaz. I'll try to be careful, and I promise I'll be back before you know it." With that, he slid inside his old beat up station wagon, slamming the door a bit too roughly. As he dug his keys into the ignition, the old automobile's engine began to sputter, and before he knew it, he was practically flying out of the driveway.

_I'm coming for you, Zim. Just hang on._

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A/N: I really, really hope I've been able to give any readers some enjoyment with this! I'm nearly on break, so I figured, why not celebrate with a new work? Though I can't quite work out a schedule for how the chapters will be worked on just yet, I'll do my best to keep bringing updates to the table, and I look forward to this journey.


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